Apple Recently Released Mac OS X El Capitan, Version 10.11
El Capitan Has Better Performance
Aug 21, 2019 Mac OS X El Capitan: Being the 12th major release of macOS, Mac OS X El Capitan belongs to the Macintosh-Unix family of OS.It was majorly released for server OS for Macintosh computers and Apple Inc.’s desktop. Being the successor of OS X Yosemite, it mainly focuses on stability, performance, and security.There is a history in its name. Oct 24, 2019 You can upgrade to OS X El Capitan from OS X Snow Leopard or later on any of the following Mac models. Your Mac also needs at least 2GB of memory and 8.8GB of available storage space. MacBook introduced in 2009 or later, plus MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008) MacBook Air introduced in late 2008 or later. The maximum amount of memory that could be allocated to the graphics processor has been increased from 1024 MB to 1536 MB on Macs with an Intel HD 4000 GPU. OS X El Capitan supports Metal, Apple's graphics API introduced in iOS 8 to speed up performance in games and professional applications.
This operating system is recommended for Apple users that have Macs with the proper system requirements. El Capitan addresses usability, speed, and crashing problems including some new features.
What’s New in Version 10.11:
El Capitan’s enhancements to window management, built-in apps and Spotlight search, can make your workflow more efficient. From launching apps to accessing email El Capitan is designed to be faster and more responsive.
New Features in Mac OS X El Capitan
- Split-screen functionality for either the option of two full screens opened alongside or a wide-type screen
- Improvements and greater usability in the Note application
- More convenience iCloud backups for the user.
- 40% more efficient system-level graphics along with
- Improved security boosting the system integrity.
Metal, Apple’s breakthrough graphics technology, integrated into El Capitan, delivers system-wide performance gains, enabling better gaming experiences, and pro apps can now tap into the full power of Mac graphics processors.
What’s New in Version 10.11:
El Capitan’s enhancements to window management, built-in apps and Spotlight search, can make your workflow more efficient. From launching apps to accessing email El Capitan is designed to be faster and more responsive. Metal, Apple’s breakthrough graphics technology, integrated into El Capitan, delivers system-wide performance gains, and enabling better gaming experiences and pro apps can now tap into the full power of Mac graphics processors.
Spotlight
Yosemite had previously improved the Spotlight search feature in OS X however El Capitan steps it up with a “search anywhere” feature. Spotlight also added the use of “natural language” to direct those searches. For example, you can now perform searches like this:
- “Files I worked on three days ago”
- “Pictures I opened last Tuesday”
- “images I edited yesterday”
New Tricks in Spotlight That are Possible in OS X 10.11 or Later
You can use the Command+Spacebar keys as a shortcut to open Spotlight.
Natural Language
Spotlight has always been able to find documents and different file types and complete searches based on file dates. However a new feature in Spotlight allows for “natural language” to direct those searches. For example:
- “Files I worked on three days ago”
- “Pictures I opened last Tuesday”
- “images I edited yesterday”
Weather Reports
Want to know what the temperature is in another city? Just search:
“Weather in (location)”
Search for Web Videos Quickly
Looking for a specific video you know or suspect is on the web?
Just Spotlight it:
“(name) video”
The more specific the name, the better the results. For instance, if you are looking for a specific music video, search for the full artist and song name followed by ‘video’.
Sports Scores & Game Schedules
Wondering what when your favorite team is playing or if they are winning?
Spotlight the following:
- “(team name) score”
- “(team name) schedule”
- “(team 1 name) (team 2 name) game”
- “(team) (sport) schedule”
You can use natural language to provide the team names, and Spotlight will find the details.
Stock Quotes & Stock Market Prices
You can now use Spotlight to check specific ticker symbols and get data about that company stock, mutual fund, ETF, or index, with the following type of searches:
- “(ticker symbol)”
- “(company name) stock price”
- “(market index) price”
Get the S&P index price from Spotlight on Mac. The quotes are gathered directly from Yahoo Finance.
All of these new features are easier to use, thanks to a re-positioning and resizable Spotlight search window functions. But allowing for manipulation like a regular window is probably going to work a lot better for users looking for more flexibility in order to integrate more seamlessly into their existing workflow.
Photos
The improvements in the built-in photo management app include:
- Support for editing extensions. These options are available via the Mac App Store, and can be plug-ins thrown in with full standalone apps, or are just extensions that live entirely within Photos.
- Make batch changes to the title of images,
- Organize Faces by dragging more than one to a person at a time
- Add location to pictures, and edit the existing ones if the metadata is off.
- Improved launch time performance.
Mail gets a host of nice new features, most of which make it easier to use the app as a way to manage your communication and scheduling in a more end-to-end manner. Mail now allows you to swipe right and left, letting you trash messages or mark them as unread, this action mimics the behavior of iOS, and of course favors trackpad users.
Mail in OS X 10.11 has a Tabs feature, letting you manage different messages in full-screen, in addition to suggested contacts and events, making it easier to input data in your address book and calendar. These enhancements to the app help to create a more comfortable arena to manage your communications.
Notes
Apple’s improvements to Notes in OS X El Capitan are considered to be highlights of El Capitan’s new features by many.
- Notes is no longer limited to plain text and the occasional attachment anymore. The Notes app can now ingest and pin sketches from your iOS devices as well as audio notes, webpages, photos, videos, documents, and map locations.
- Notes will also have an, Attachments browser, modeled after Messages’s Details menu.
- Automatically add information, links, and more to Notes and Reminders by using the Share button to send your content to your other apps, rather than cutting and pasting.
Performance
Another one of the best features coming to the Mac in El Capitan is the overall boost in performance.
The performance improvements could enable machines like the new MacBook with more efficient functionality.
Improvements include:
- Faster launching across apps (not just for Photos)
- Improved performance for using PDFs and the Mac email app
Metal
Metal is also a new feature in Mac OS X 10.11, it uses the GPU to contribute to the CPU’s workload. So long as the different developers code their apps to support it. Metal may also be able to provide improvements on higher-end machines, and be especially useful for gaming, design, or production functionality.
These performance improvements could offer gains for Macs like the new MacBook, which opted for lightweight form factor and portability over impressive processor specs. This could mean more Macs in the future will share a similar design inspiration with the current MacBook: improved performance on the software side allowing for increased hardware efficiency.
References:
http://www.vinereport.com/article/el.capitan.issues.bugs.new.os.is.recommended.but.some.problems.are.identified.quick.fixes/3593.htm
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/54770/apple-os-x-el-capitan
Check compatibility
You can upgrade to OS X El Capitan from OS X Snow Leopard or later on any of the following Mac models. Your Mac also needs at least 2GB of memory and 8.8GB of available storage space.
MacBook introduced in 2009 or later, plus MacBook (13-inch, Aluminum, Late 2008)
MacBook Air introduced in late 2008 or later
MacBook Pro introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac mini introduced in early 2009 or later
iMac introduced in mid 2007 or later
Mac Pro introduced in early 2008 or later
Xserve models introduced in early 2009
To find your Mac model, memory, storage space, and macOS version, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu . If your Mac isn't compatible with OS X El Capitan, the installer will let you know.
Make a backup
Before installing any upgrade, it’s a good idea to back up your Mac. Time Machine makes it simple, and other backup methods are also available. Learn how to back up your Mac.
Get connected
It takes time to download and install OS X, so make sure that you have a reliable Internet connection. If you're using a Mac notebook computer, plug it into AC power.
Download OS X El Capitan
For the strongest security and latest features, find out whether you can upgrade to macOS Catalina, the latest version of macOS.
If you still need OS X El Capitan, use this link: Download OS X El Capitan. A file named InstallMacOSX.dmg will download to your Mac.
Install the macOS installer
Double-click the downloaded file to open a window showing its contents. Then double-click the file within, named InstallMacOSX.pkg.
Follow the onscreen instructions, which will guide you through the steps necessary to install.
Begin installation
Minimum System Requirements For Mac Os X El Capitan
After installation of the installer is complete, open the Applications folder on your Mac, then double-click the file named Install OS X El Capitan.
Click Continue and follow the onscreen instructions. You might find it easiest to begin installation in the evening so that it can complete overnight, if needed.
Allow installation to complete
Please allow installation to complete without putting your Mac to sleep or closing its lid. Your Mac might restart, show a progress bar, or show a blank screen several times as it installs both OS X and related updates to your Mac firmware.
Learn more
Mac Os El Capitan Requirements
- OS X El Capitan won't install on top of a later version of macOS, but you can erase your disk first or install on another disk.
- You can use macOS Recovery to reinstall macOS.